Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols said he was ‘heartbroken’ to hear two women were killed by Israeli sniper fire at a church compound in Gaza (Picture: PA)
The head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales has condemned the ‘seemingly deliberate and callous killing’ of two women at a church in Gaza.
Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols said he was ‘heartbroken’ to hear two Christian women at a church compound in Gaza City were killed by Israeli sniper fire and seven others wounded.
The women were a mother and daughter, according to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, who shared the news.
It’s believed one was killed trying to carry the other to safety. There was no immediate comment from Israel.
Cardinal Nichols said: ‘The information provided by the Cardinal, gives a picture of seemingly deliberate and callous killing by IDF soldiers of innocent civilians: an elderly woman and her daughter in the grounds of a church. This killing has to stop. It can never be justified.
‘I ask all people of faith and goodwill to continue to pray for an end to this conflict by all sides.’
A statement from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, whose territory covers Cyprus, Jordan, Israel and Palestine, said the women were killed in ‘cold blood’.
Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip (Picture: via REUTERS)
‘No warning was given, no notification was provided. They were shot in cold blood inside the premises of the Parish, where there are no belligerents.’
Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran has said that her relatives are among the Christians who have sought shelter in the Holy Family Church.
She expressed deep concern about the situation.
In a post on X she said: ‘Soldiers are at the gates and there was a fire when they hit one of the (already dysfunctional) generators.
‘There is no water left. There are 300 people there. We don’t know why this is happening.
‘Are they going to be expelled from a church just days before Christmas?’
Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran said she has relatives sheltering in the Holy Family Church in Gaza(Picture: PA)
Meanwhile, it’s emerged three hostages mistakenly killed by Israeli soldiers in Gaza were shirtless and had been holding up a white flag, a military official has said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a nationwide address that the killings ‘broke my heart, broke the entire nation’s heart’, but indicated no change in Israel’s intensive military campaign.
‘We are as committed as ever to continue until the end, until we dismantle Hamas, until we return all our hostages,’ he said.
Yotam Haim, 28, Samer Talalka, 22, and Alon Shamriz, 26 were shot dead by Israeli Defence Forces troops who mistook them as ‘terrorists’ after escaping Hamas captivity on Friday.